De-mystifying mental health

  • Published
  • 8th Fighter Wing mental health
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  There are a lot of misconceptions regarding the mental health clinic. Here are the three heard most commonly:

Myth No. 1: "A visit to mental health will ruin my career."

In reality, 95 percent of mental health visits result in zero impact on career, clearance, or weapons-bearing status. In the remaining five percent of cases, an individual has typically attempted (unsuccessfully) to face a problem on his or her own, and that problem has snow-balled to the point where mission is impacted and the member is referred to mental health for a command-directed evaluation. The same independence, drive, and self-sufficiency that leads many military members to success at work can often be self-defeating when applied to their personal lives; sometimes the greater act of courage is to recognize when outside help is needed and access available resources. When members are proactive, and seek help at the outset of problems, they learn skills they can use to get themselves back on track before problems spill over into other areas of their lives.

Myth No. 2: "Mental health providers will report everything I tell them back to my commander/first sergeant."

While confidentiality is not 100 percent, the vast majority of information shared in the mental health clinic is never shared with a member's chain of command. We are required by law to report any threat of suicide or homicide, any Uniform Code of Military Justice violation, and any significant threat to performance of the mission (i.e., extreme mood instability or psychosis). Communication with a member's chain of command occurs in less than five percent of cases and is always discussed with the member beforehand.

Myth No. 3: "Going to mental health means I'm broken or crazy."

In contrast with the days of Freud, we no longer require that you lie down on a couch during sessions and we very rarely will ask you about your mother. During the past few decades, a shift has occurred in the realm of mental health care. Treatment is increasingly focused on helping individuals to build on their strengths, acquire new skills, and lead more fulfilling lives, as opposed to fixing what's "broken" or "dysfunctional." Air Force policy declines admission to individuals with significant mental health problems; many of our patients are high-functioning and require only minor "tweaks" to help them face the problems that are inherent in life.

Everyone faces challenges in life; we're here to help! We encourage you to take advantages of the services we offer:

· Individual counseling -- most commonly for depression, anxiety, combat stress/Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, relationship problems, stress and anger management, or communication skills
· Single-session classes through the health and wellness center on stress management, sleep, anger management, and healthy thinking (contact us at 782-4841 to sign up for one of these)
· Unit/commander outreach -- we work with commanders to address problems with morale or personnel conflict, and can provide mass unit briefings about any mental-health related topic. The mental health flight commander is dual-hatted as the wing's director of psychological health (DPH); this role involves unit-level consultation (applying the same tools we use to help individual patients at the wing/group/squadron level)
· Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (alcohol use/abuse treatment) services -- includes education about alcohol use, and sessions individually tailored to help individuals change their drinking behavior

We are located in Bldg. 302, across the street from the hospital (in front of the Wolf Pack Lodge, near the area defense counsel building). Walk-ins are always welcome, or you can reach us at 782-4841. We also have a provider on-call 24/7 who can be reached through the command post.